Rodriguez becomes youngest in baseball history to hit 500 home runs

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched
the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed
true, he raised his hands in the air -- the long wait for No. 500
was finally over.

Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to
hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to
end a 10-day wait.

"I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only
hit 500 once," he said after the New York Yankees beat Kansas City
16-8.

The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after
his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it
would land.

"I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to
be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball
would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."

After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of
home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the
bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee
Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a
hug from Derek Jeter.

"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a
home run. I tried hard for about five days," Rodriguez said.

A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and
commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was in San Diego and
watched Barry Bonds tie Hank Aaron's career home run record with a
second-inning shot off Padres starter Clay Hensley.

Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed
Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach
500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this
season behind Frank Thomas -- Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get
there this year, too.

It may not take very long for Rodriguez to rise to the top of
the list, either. Bonds was two away from breaking Aaron's record
of 755 heading into San Francisco's game Saturday night.

Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one
more than he hit last year.

"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager
Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a
destination."

Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the
landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after
completing his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on
the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the
bench.

"It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school
reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of
the dugout," Rodriguez said. "It was awesome. Pretty cool."

The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out
of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days
after he hit No. 499.

"He deserves it," teammate Johnny Damon said. "He has been a
tremendous asset to this game."

After he took his seat next to Jeter, the Yankees captain
reached out and playfully rubbed A-Rod's head as the two superstars
laughed. They were close when they were younger but Rodriguez
admitted in spring training that their relationship had cooled over
the years.

The All-Star third baseman became the third player to hit 500 as
a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth did it at
Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at
home against Baltimore on May 14, 1967.

"Nobody wants to give up a homer, be a part of history that
way," Davies said. "I was trying to throw a sinker down and in
and I didn't get it down and in far enough."

Rodriguez went into a tailspin after hitting No. 499 on July 25
at Kansas City. He was hitless in a career-worst 22 straight
at-bats before ending the slump Thursday.

His 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer
games to reach 500: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).

"This was a fantastic, monumental achievement," Steinbrenner
said in a statement released by spokesman Howard Rubenstein.

A Rutgers student ended up with the ball, and the Yankees said
he didn't want to be identified. Team spokesman Jason Zillo was
negotiating with the man about the ball.

A-Rod and Yankees fans have had an up-and-down relationship
since he joined the team in 2004.

"It takes awhile in New York," Rodriguez said. "For some
people, it takes six months to a year. I think it truly took me
three to four years to understand New York."

Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu
scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six
to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0)
got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.

Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas
City, which acquired him from the Braves on Tuesday for reliever
Octavio Dotel. John Bale (0-1) got the loss.

Rodriguez was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft by
Seattle. One year later, he became the third 18-year-old shortstop
in the majors since 1900. At that point, he gave little indication
that he would develop into a two-time AL MVP and one of the game's
greatest home run hitters.

A-Rod's first home run came on June 12, 1995, against Tom Gordon
and Kansas City.

Game notesRodriguez scored three times and became the first player in
major league history with 10 straight seasons of at least 35
homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.